Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

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Gelder, which had sunle when they hit a minefield near the island of Terschelling, were
added to the column. It would not be the last time the memorial was altered. 68
ELIMINATING GREAT WAR MEMORY, MAY 1940
While during the interwar years some groups of ex-soldiers celebrated their
mobilisation annually on 1 August, the govermnent did not assign a national day of
remembrance to the war. There simply was not the same need to remember; there were no
"communities of the bereaved" in the Netherlands. 69 Although their war experiences were
significant, they were not emotionally overpowering. As a result, Great War remembrance
traditions did not take a strong hold of Dutch culture and there was no long-term
internalisation of the war in their national historical consciousness?O Quite in contrast, the
most culturally defining moment for the Dutch in the twentieth century was the German
invasion in May 1940. The experiences of Nazi occupation left a long-lasting impression
and pushed memories of the Great War to the side. Hence, the desire to remember as the
rest of the world had done after 1919 came for the Dutch in 1945.
The intensity of the Second World War experience ensured that two public
holidays are dedicated to war memOlY - Herdenlangsdag (Remembrance Day) and
Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day) - commemorated each year on 4 and 5 May. The first
remembers those who suffered and died during the war, the other celebrates regained
freedom afterwards. Over the years, Remembrance Day has evolved and now observes
other periods of conflict as well. For example, the official commemorations held at the
monument in the square of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, also recognise all women and
men who served and died in service of their country - in military or peace-keeping
operations - from September 1939 onwards. All post-1945 conflicts are included, yet the
war that saw around 400,000 conscripts mobilise between 1914 and 1919 is not.
Due to the loss of the Great War from the public and historical mind, Dutch
monuments built during the interbellum have suffered extensively from neglect over the last
60 years. It is striking that in the Netherlands the Great War has lapsed from public
68 Correspondence with Bert van del' Meer, Head of Section Communication of Den Helder's Municipal Council,
June 1999.
69 Winter, Sites 0/ memory, sites o/mourning p. 6.
70 Brands, "The Great War die aan ons voorbijging" p.lO.